James and Tia chatted away, having wrapped Nina with bandages and given her medicine. Zen was dozing off near Kane, and Jay sat next to Nina and Lucas on a bed. The Frogadier was still conflicted, staring at the flower Kora gave her. She didn't know what to do with it…
"You feeling any better? I'd pat you on the back, but…" Lucas said jokingly, although neither Nina nor Jay thought it was funny. At all. "S-Sorry…" Lucas apologized, pushing the tips of his claws together.
Nina let out a pensive sigh. "Do you guys think overreacted? I mean, he really did look sorry," she asked her friends. They both shrugged, Jay because he wasn't there and Lucas because he didn't mind fighting the fake Kora.
"Oh please, I wouldn't give that idiot any leeway. It isn't the first time he got someone hurt," Eva said as she walked in. "Trust me, it's best for you not to get near him. He attracts nothing but trouble," the Zangoose warned. She then noticed the flower Nina was holding. "What kind of flower is that? Looks pretty, I've definitely never seen it on the island…"
"I don't know, Kora made it after we put his Lucario friend in one of the empty rooms," Nina said, holding it out for Eva to hold.
Eva hesitated before cautiously holding the dark flower in her claw tips. "Kora? Really? I didn't think he'd be able to do… anything like this, actually," Eva said, sniffing the flower. It's scent was similar to a lum berry, but off somehow.
"Do you two know each other?" Nina asked. "Well, obviously you do but, like… do you know each other well?"
Eva frowned and nodded. "I did, for better or worse. He's been nothing but trouble since we were kids. I'm glad I tried and split off from him."
"Really? I always thought you two were pretty close," James butted in, grinning playfully. "I mean, the two of you always hung out together; eating berries, telling stories, camping out by yourselves. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was your boyfriend."
Eva suddenly turned bright red and sputtered. "A-As if!" Nina giggled, and Lucas and Tia got a good laugh in, too. All the commotion even woke up Zen and Kane nearly fell out of bed."W-We weren't like that at all! H-he was annoying and... and obnoxious!"
"If that's true, why are you redder than I am right now?" Lucas asked, holding back his laughter.
"It's just, uh, hot in here! Yeah, it's hot!" Eva answered, nodding and crossing her arms.
"Is it hotter than your boyfriend?" Jay asked with a smug grin, making Eva turn somehow even more red.
Eva let out a peep, then quickly covered her snout. Her ears twitched as she heard James snort, then glared at the Floatzel furiously.
James felt someone staring at him with murderous intent, then locked his eyes with his daughter. He let out a higher pitched peep than she did and backed away. "It's j-just a little joke, Eva! Some harmless father-daughter humor! No need to get, um, angry... right?" James tried to reason with his rage-filled daughter.
"WRONG!" Eva shouted, grabbing James' arm and lifting him above her head. With all her might, she threw her father right out the infirmary. James crashed into the wall somethin' fierce. Eva dusted off her paws and looked proudly off to the side. The young trio giggled between themselves, and Tia smiled and rolled her eyes. Even Zen almost smirked.
As the others were distracted with themselves, Eva slipped out the infirmary. James was perfectly fine, just upside down and giggling to himself.
"Did we do a good job? Was the throw authentic enough or do we have to do it again?" James asked, smiling.
Eva giggled and nodded. "Nah, everyone believed it. Thanks for helping lift the mood, even though it was at my expense," Eva said, sitting down next to James.
The Floatzel sat himself up straight and brushed some dirt off himself. "If you don't mind me asking, do you really still hate Kora?" he asked. "Actually, hate is a bit of an overstatement…It's more like you have an incredibly short temper with him. Anything he does can set you off like a lit match hitting oil."
Eva leaned on the wall and let her arms rest on her lap, letting her eyes close. "It's not that I hate him, it's just that he can do better, I know he can. But everytime he messes up, everyone cuts him so much slack!" she huffed. "I want him to do better. And yeah, sure, I might be a bit strict against him, but he's not getting anywhere with everyone letting him off easy!"
James rested a paw on Eva's shoulder, giving her an understanding smile. "So, you still think of him as a friend? Or an annoying little brother at least?" he chuckled. "I guess it'd be weird to point out that that was exactly how me and your mother acted, huh?"
Eva giggled and rolled her eyes. "Blegh, sure, I totally believe that."
"I am being entirely honest! You and him remind me of us, minus the whole… him being a Zoroark, thing," James said, smiling. He sighed, and a more serious look fell upon James. "Look… I understand you want Kora to be better, but I can tell there's still some bitterness in you towards him. That bitterness isn't going to help him in the slightest, you know? What happened between you two was almost a decade ago, and some part of you still holds it against him. That's not healthy for either of you."
'More than just some part, actually…' Eva thought to herself, then sighed. "I… know. But moving on isn't as easy as you'd think. Not with this." Eva looked away from James, running her paw over her head. "I'll figure out what I need to do on my own, but Kora can't do that. He isn't… he doesn't know how."
"Are you sure about that? He's not as inept as you make him out to be," James chuckled. "You're starting to sound like Zen, dear. Maybe he's your boyfr-" A claw aimed at his snout shut James up real quick, plus the deadly glare for good measure. James put his paws up and inched away, zipping his mouth shut.
Eva snorted and snickered. "Good," she said, giving James a smile.
The two were about to head back into the infirmary when they heard someone huffing and puffing down the hall. The exhausted form of Jax made his grand reappearance; hardly able to talk, sweating like it was the middle of summer, and stumbling with every step he took. He used every one of his arms to not fall over immediately.
James and Eva watched as Jax suddenly lurched forward, but caught himself, both wandering what was wrong. The Machamp stepped closer to the two, reaching weakly out towards them.
"You alright?" James asked. Jax lurched forward again, leaning on James. He was so much heavier than he looked. James groaned and wheezed as Jax slowly brought them both down to the ground.. "U-Uh oh..!"
James looked desperately at his daughter for assistance, but she was too busy holding back her laughter to be of any help. With a rather loud thud, Jax and James hit the floor, with the unlucky otter on the bottom.
After that mess with Eva went over, Kane decided he was well enough to leave and went somewhere to be alone. He didn't say a word as he left, but shot Zen a sideways glance just before he did. Tia probably tried to stop him, but he didn't care to listen.
Kane didn't really know the layout of the guild, so he wandered aimlessly through the halls. He didn't really care as long as he wasn't in that room. 'Goddammit…' Kane huffed. 'Zen and his bullshit, knocking me out out of nowhere… And all that annoyin' shit just now…'
Before long, Kane arrived in the sparring area. He was so lost in whatever he was feeling that he didn't notice the lake before he fell straight in. Fortunately, he landed on one partially submerged Kora to break his fall.
Kora and Kane stared at each other. One would have assumed they'd be at each other's throats. Instead, both stayed silent, even if they would really have liked to not see the other.
The first to break the silence was Kora, surprisingly. "Why are you here?" he asked, taking his eyes off Kane and staring at the ceiling.
"Could ask ya the same thing," Kane replied, swimming over to the water's edge. "I saw the runt out cold in the infirmary, shouldn't ya be by her side or some shit? The hell are ya floating around here for?"
Kora shut his eyes and inhaled deeply, his body gently floating on the water. A faint darkness pulsed around him, just barely enough for Kane to notice. "The hell do you care?" he growled. "Thought you hated us, so why do you suddenly give a shit about our business?"
Kane had to admit, Kora had a point. Of course, he wouldn't openly admit it. "I don't care, dipshit. Just because I asked for your two cents, doesn't mean I want it," Kane spat. "Just answer the damn question, since ya didn't like me being polite."
Kora glanced at Kane for a moment, indifferent about the Scrafty's tone. Emotionlessly, Kora answered. "Ask Eva."
"What about her?!" Kane hissed, hitting the surface of the water. "The hell are ya blaming her for? Knowing you, ya deserved whatever it was she did to ya!" Kora sighed and dove under the water, not wanting to deal with Kane's nonsense. "Get back up here, punk! I ain't done talking to you!" Kane shouted.
Kora swam deeper, not paying Kane any mind. Kane sucked his teeth and climbed out of the lake, storming out of the area.
'Damn him!' Kane thought, 'And damn myself! What the hell is happening?!' Through his rage, Kane nearly knocked over Zen, who was accompanied by Jay, Lucas, and Nina. He wouldn't have noticed any of them if Zen didn't grab his shoulder.
"Don't you touch me," Kane hissed, still not realizing who grabbed him. He turned his head and glared at the Bisharp, who looked genuinely shocked at Kane snapping at him.
"Kane..?" Zen asked.
Kane yanked his shoulder out of Zen's grasp. "It's none of your business, now BEAT IT!" Kane yelled, putting on his hood and storming away.
Zen flinched ever so slightly. He turned to Jay and the others. "This is why you stay out of other people's business. Go ahead without me," the Bisharp told them, then ran after his friend.
Kane didn't care where he went as long as no one else was there. Outside the mountain was cold, and getting colder. Kane didn't feel it until he was well away from the guild, and he exhaled thick clouds with every breath. The Scrafty couldn't care less about the chill nipping at his body; he just wanted to get away.
'Goddamnit! Goddammit goddammit god-DAMMIT!' Kane kicked the sand, rubbing his arms. 'What the hell?! NGHAAAA!' Kane didn't know how long he walked in his rage, he didn't care. He did not care.
Who knows how long later, Kane stopped. Someone was sitting on the beach, alone. It was a Zoroark from the look of it. Kane got a bit closer, recognizing the fox as Diana. She stared out to sea, unknowing of Kane's arrival.
"..." Kane shut his eyes, then kept walking. It wasn't his business, and she clearly wanted to be alone. Just as Kane passed her, however, he stopped again. While he wouldn't have been known for it, Kane had a great sense of smell. Even among the strong smell of the ocean, he could easily pick out that dreadful scent of iron from it.
"Diana?" Kane spoke, not realizing he said anything until after Diana's head turned to face him. She looked… different. Kane might not have had plenty of run-ins with her, but he didn't need to to know something was off.
Diana stared at Kane for a few seconds, before her eyes widened. She wiped her face and put on a smile. "O-Oh! I-It's you, Kane!" she said, coughing. Her voice was more shaky and strained than Kane thought was normal.
Kane wanted to leave, whatever Diana was doing wasn't of his concern, but every time he thought about doing that, he remembered that iron scent he picked up on. Begrudgingly, he decided to stay. Diana flinched when Kane got closer to her. She even tried to sneakily hide herself in her mane. Kane was just able to see why before Diana moved her mane. Streaks of deep red decorated her body, and there were a few bruises too. If there were any ferals on the island, Kane would have assumed she got in a fight.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but you look terrible," Kane said bluntly.
"Who, me? I'm fine, perfectly fine!" Diana replied, waving a paw defensively. "I just... had a bad fall, and came out here to relax a little."
"Really?" Kane deadpanned. Diana smiled innocently and nodded. "Well, why not go to the guild? Everyone else is there," Kane said, gesturing towards the mountain.
"N-No, I'm fine! Honestly! How about I head back to my home and patch myself up? Then you can do… whatever it was you were doing?" Diana suggested with a nervous smile.
There was a moment of hesitation from Kane. Again, he had his chance to be alone, and again… he denied it. "I'll walk you to your house, just to make sure you don't have another fall."
"G-Great! No, really!" Diana's smile wavered. "Th-Thank you!"
Kane raised a brow. "Sure… don't mention it."
It was mostly silent, other than the rustling of the leaves in the wind and the occasional crunch of a twig or leaves on the ground. Diana stumbled every now and then, and stopped outright a few times for seemingly no reason. Kane himself was too lost in thought to really care. At some point, Diana fell, and Kane didn't realize until his foot bumped into hers.
Diana didn't get up at first, so Kane grabbed hold of her paw. It was… colder than he expected. Kane pulled Diana off the ground, wrapping her arm around his shoulder and continuing through the forest. Thanks to her height over him, Diana was leaning almost entirely onto Kane. He could feel her heart beating faintly on his shoulder. She reeked of iron. Kane did his best to suppress a gag.
"Kane…" Diana said weakly, breaking the silence. "You haven't seen my sons lately... have you?"
Kane stared forward, not speaking for a moment. He let out a sigh, then said, "Only Kora. Thought the runt would be with you," Kane replied.
Diana hummed. "Why wouldn't he be... right?" she asked, rhetorical. "I haven't seen Kai or Mia since Kora and his friends started training. Same with Kora himself. I'm… worried about them."
"What's stoppin' you from seein' them?" Kane asked. "Like I said, everyone's in the mountain, maybe your kid and his friend is too."
"I can't… and I can't tell you why I can't either," Diana sighed, stumbling and leaning onto Kane more. "I'm sorry."
Good, Kane didn't care. Which doesn't explain why he suddenly got nervous. "Why not?"
Diana turned her head to the side. "Please… forget I said anything."
Kane flinched. "No, what-I…" he took a deep breath. "Fine, whatever."
More silence filled the woods. Clouds rolled in high above the trees, darkening the forest. It was getting harder to see, and Diana stumbled more and more. Fed up with it, Kane stopped and lowered himself down to a knee. "Get on. You're slowing us down," he said, not at all trying to mask his irritation.
"Right, sorry," Diana replied. She practically fell on top of Kane, nearly knocking him over.
Kane wheezed slightly, but stood strong. He grabbed under Diana's knees and stood back up. Another surprise to Kane, which probably shouldn't be all that surprising, was how cold Diana was. Kane was tempted to ask how long Diana was sitting on the beach, but thought it to be best to just get out of the cold. Neither of them said another word, allowing that silence to return once more.
The house looked vacant, almost abandoned. It was just as cold, if not colder, than outside. Rugs were tossed to the side. The firepit had nothing but ashes and a stone plate. On the stone sat a pot, whose insides were caked with old Berry juice. Kane kicked some of the rugs close to the firepit and let Diana off his back.
"I can light the fire," Diana said, breathing deeply. "But can you help clear the ash and get some firewood."
Kane huffed but didn't object. He sat next to Diana, took the stone out, and began scooping out the ashes and placing them in a jar to the side. Once most of the ash was removed, Kane got up and grabbed a few logs, tossing them carelessly into the pit. Diana shuffled them around a bit, then held out her paw.
"Thunderbolt." A bright yellow bolt of electricity shot out of her paw towards the logs. They caught pretty easily, filling the room with some much needed heat. "That's better, wouldn't you say?" Diana asked, giving a more pleasant smile than before.
"Aren't you gonna fix yourself up?" Kane reminded Diana.
Diana nodded, reaching into her main and pulling out some bandages and setting them to the side. She then pulled out a fist sized vile of blue liquid and opened it with a satisfying POP. The scent of oran, sitrus, and lum berries filled the air as Diana rubbed the liquid on her arms.
'Wait... the hell did we come all the way back here if she had bandages and all that in her hair?' Kane thought to himself, feeling like an idiot for wasting his time. That was when Kane noticed some strange markings on Diana's body again. On her arms, going up to her shoulder and even on her chest and sides. They were… scars. And with how red they were, to be clearly seen through Diana's fur...
"Could you grab that pot for me, before it gets too hot?" Diana asked, derailing Kane's train of thought. Kane nodded, taking the pot off the fire before it got too hot. He made the mistake of looking inside, gagging at the vile odor of rotten fruit. "I made too much, thinking Kora or Kai and Mia would have shown up to have some," Diana explained, sniffling.
Kane glanced at her, holding the pot away from him. "H-How long was this sitting here? This... This doesn't even look like food anymore."
Diana didn't answer, instead focusing on putting some of the blue liquid on the rest of her body, where the scars were. "Would you mind clearing that pot out?" she asked.
Kane sighed and gave a nod as he carried the pot out to the garden. He walked over to the exit and placed it on the ground. After he shook out some of the clumps of mushy, rotten fruit, Kane fired a weak dark pulse into it. The rest of the rotten food flew out of the pot, and luckily none of it landed on Kane. He paused for a moment before he picked back up the pot and went back over to Diana.
"Done," Kane said, dropping the pot on the fire with a KLANG. Diana smiled gratefully and put down the vial. She reached for a basket and placed it between her and Kane, silently offering the fruit inside after she took out an enigma berry and started eating it. Kane reached for a berry, and got pricked by a colbur berry. Might as well eat that, he figured. Diana then grabbed a jug of water and poured it into the pot.
The two sat in silence, watching the dance of the flames and listening to the crackle of the fire. Every now and then, Kane would spot Diana staring at him, but he pretended he didn't notice.
Once the water began to boil, Diana spoke. "You're nothing like how Minerva and Kora make you out to be."
"What's that's supposed to mean?" Kane said, keeping his eyes on the fire.
"Well, with how they described you, I thought you'd have left me several times already," Diana replied. "Have you… changed?"
"The hell are you on about?" Kane huffed, giving Diana an angry look. "I haven't changed a damn thing."
Diana flinched. She grabbed a few of the berries, splitting them in half and placing them in the boiling water. A pinap berry slipped out of Diana's grasp a little too high, however, and some of the water splashed on her paw. She let out a pained hiss and reeled her arm back. Kane instinctively grabbed the vial Diana had earlier, then grabbed Diana's paw, and rubbed some of the liquid on it.
"What the hell are you doing?" Kane said sternly, staring Diana in the eye.
"I-I'm sorry, it slipped," Diana winced and turned her head away from Kane.
Kane sucked his teeth, still holding onto Diana's paw. It was still cold. He was about to let go of her paw, when he again noticed her scars. Iron filled his nose again, which he tried to overpower by eating another berry. It barely helped.
Silence fell over the two again. Diana watched as the water boiled, and Kane watched the fire crawl over the stone and lap at the sides of the pot. A frown found its place on Kane's face, then he looked to Diana. "How's it feel?" he asked, causing Diana's ear to twitch.
"My paw? It's fine. The mixture in that vial is essentially medicine, an all-cure I like to call it," Diana said, rubbing her paw. "I got the recipe from my… my husband. Before he passed."
Diana's eyes sank enough for Kane to notice. He took another bite of his berry. "So, what're makin' now? In the pot?"
"Just some juice, but it's going to take some time for the berries to soften. And there's an ingredient I want to add, from my garden," Diana replied, holding her paw to her chest. She sucked her teeth, then dropped her arm. "I know… you've noticed them by now. My… scars."
"A blind 'mon woulda noticed," Kane said, turning slightly away from Diana. "You took one hell of a fall, huh?"
Diana gulped, clenching her fists. "Y-Yes. That's what I said. I fell." She reached for the vial with a shaky arm, but gave up. Her arm fell back to her side, drawing a faint hiss from her. "I'm… tired."
"I noticed that, too…" Kane said, still looking away.
The fire crackled loudly, and the water boiled heavily, but Kane and Diana were silent once more.
With a long sigh, Kane turned back to Diana. "You want this?" he asked, holding the vial out to her.
"I-I would, yes," Diana nodded. "If it isn't too much to ask, could you… apply for me?"
"Do I have a choice..?" Kane deadpanned. Diana looked away sheepishly. Kane shook his head. "Fine."
Diana gave Kane the warmest smile she could. "Thank you." With an awkward shuffle, Diana turned her body to Kane. She looked worse than Kane thought. Red scratches and scars were everywhere. Kane flinched at the sight. Diana felt the need to cover herself, looking away again. "I-It's-"
"Just like you said, one hell of a fall," Kane interrupted. "Nothin' more."
"R-Right, a fall, yes," Diana nodded, smiling faintly. "Right…"
Kane got closer to Diana, motioning for her to lie on her back as he sat beside her. He rolled his shoulders and rubbed the all-cure over his hands, then gently pressed them against Diana's stomach. She winced and growled slightly, then bit her lip to keep quiet. As Kane rubbed the all-cure in and it mixed with Diana's blood, it turned a deep shade of purple before basically vanishing entirely. The scars, however, did not.
"D-Don't rub it in too much," Diana said, panting. "It's better to leave some for when we put bandage wrap over the scars. Helps them heal faster."
"You mean for when I wrap the bandage," Kane rolled his eyes, chuckling faintly. It helped to distract him from noticing how Diana felt. He did not want to think about that. He did not. Or that's what he told himself.
Diana snickered. "I guess you do have a point."
Kane reapplied a bit of the all-cure to Diana's stomach, not dwelling on how much more fit she was compared to him, and moved… nowhere. Diana had scars all over her: her neck, her shoulders, her hips, her back… her legs and her chest…
Kane cleared his throat. "A-Are you feelin' any better? Can you do the rest yourself?"
"I'll see…" Diana tried moving her arms. They barely even twitched. She shook her head. "No, I can't."
"Are you sure?" Kane asked again, looking her dead in the eye. Diana shook her head again. "S-Seriously..?" he groaned.
"This… isn't much better for me, either," Diana tittered. "It would be best if we just… get it over with."
Kane put more of the all-cure on, but still sat there, unmoving. "Wh-Where should I..?"
"Kane, I know I'm still asking for a lot, but please. Stop stalling," Diana sighed, looking to the side.
There was no not-awkward place to start: Kane would either be awkwardly close to Diana's face or… ok honestly that was better than the legs. He could have also started on the back but that would be the easiest so Kane figured to save that for last.
With a nod and shaky hands, Kane moved upwards. He placed his hands on Diana's chest, making sure to only touch her scars. And also to not look up at her. He felt Diana's heart start to race, and his own for that matter, the longer he took. Fortunately, there were only a few scars, so he moved further up.
Kane gently grabbed Diana's shoulders and pulled her up, rubbing down her shoulders and neck. They were facing each other, yes, but didn't let their eyes meet. Even when Kane had to rub Diana's cheek, and their heads were level with each other. Kane set Diana back down, and his eyes crawled to the rest of what he had to do.
"Any better yet?" Kane asked.
"Once we're done and I'm all bandaged up," Diana nodded.
Kane cussed under his breath. No point in stalling any longer, then. He scooted back done, slapped the all-cure on his hands, and got too work. The worst of the scars were here. Long, deep streaks of crimson traveled up her legs. She wasn't bleeding all that much, fortunately, but Kane was still uneasy looking at it. Kane pretty much had to dump the all-cure on the scars, and when he tried to massage it in, Diana let out a pained moan or hiss. Kane knew he had to be gentle, and in doing so, eased away any nervousness from before.
"You're… rather good at this," Diana said, wincing as Kane got to another scar.
"I better be," Kane said proudly. "Eva practiced first aid on me and Zen a while back. She kept messing up, so I took it on myself to learn it so I could teach her."
Diana looked down at Kane. "Really? I wouldn't have known. Who taught you?"
"Myself. Bought a book from Nick about basic medical nonsense," Kane answered, getting more of the all-cure and going to Diana's other leg. "Natural remedies, which berries do what, which berries do what together, how to properly apply medicines, all that mess."
"Why didn't you just give Eva the book?" Diana asked.
Kane pulled Diana's leg closer to him; one of the scars was a lot longer than the others and reached her lower inner thigh. "Where's the fun in giving her the book when I could've taught her?"
"Fair point," Diana chuckled.
Before long, Kane was done. He tapped Diana's side for her to flip over, which he helped to do. There weren't any scars on the center of Diana's back. They were mostly near her shoulders and hips. Kane didn't hesitate, moving Diana's mane to the side and getting started.
The two fell into their usual silence, albeit a far less uncomfortable one, until Diana spoke up. "...They were wrong about you," she said. "Kora, and Minerva."
"I coulda told you that," Kane replied, moving to Diana's lower back. "Eva and Zen too, really."
"Then how come-" Diana began, then cut herself off. "What happened between you three?"
Kane paused for a moment, then went to get the back of Diana's legs. "Nothing worth mentioning. We just don't like each other. That's it."
Diana hummed to herself, nodding. "I understand."
A few minutes later, they were done. With the first half at least. Kane grabbed the bandage wrap and sat Diana up. He started with her arms, after adding a bit of all-cure to them first. He went around three times before cutting the wrap and tying it off. Same with her other arm. Kane went around a fourth time on Diana's abdomen and chest, then three again on her legs. She was bandaged up with no hiccups at all!
Kane sat back and admired his handy work. Diana was all patched up, and that iron smell got replaced with a more fruity one. Kane smiled proudly, nodding at Diana. "And we're done. We never have to speak of this again."
"Right," Diana giggled. "This can be our little secret."
"Don't… call it that," Kane deadpanned.
Diana laughed, raising a paw to her snout. "Huh, just like I thought," she said, moving her arms around. She tried to do it in circles, but couldn't raise her arms above her head. "Still a bit worse for wear, but much better than before. Thank you, Kane."
A faint redness rose to Kane's face. "Again, don't mention it. Seriously."
"My lips are sealed," Diana promised. "Speaking of lips, the berries should be soft enough now."
"How you got 'berries' from 'lips' doesn't make all that much sense," Kane rolled his eyes. "But whatever, do your thing."
Diana grabbed a wooden spoon and started crushing the berries in the pot, tossing in some cinnamon and some yellow flower she crashed in her paw and dropped in. There was already a pleasant smell in the air, but it doubled as Diana mixed the berries together. When she finished, a deep purple drink bubbled and popped in the put.
Diana grabbed a pair of bowls, blowing the dust out of them first before filling them up. "Here," she said, handing a bowl to Kane. "A reward. And an apology."
"I'll just take it as a reward, thanks," Kane nodded as he took his bowl. The Scrafty's tail started wagging as he drank the juice, which he did little to hide. He finished the entire thing while it was still hot. "Whoa that's good!"
"I'm glad you liked it," Diana smiled warmly, sipping at her own bowl. "Have as much as you like, then you can be on your way."
"Be on my…" Kane blinked.
"Weren't you busy before I sidetracked you?" Diana asked. "I figured you must have been, since I don't believe you were a fan of the cold."
"Right, I'm not." Kane shook his head. "It's nothin', just wanted to take a walk. It's probably best I stay here anyway, it's not like it got any warmer outside."
"True," Diana nodded. "Then, make yourself at home, dear."
Another smile found its way onto Kane. He held out his bowl and clinked it with Diana's. "I might as well, right?"
"He could be anywhere out here!" Eva exclaimed, following quickly behind Zen as they ran through the forest. She looked up at the sky, or as much as she could see from between the trees' foliage. The clouds were dark and thick, obvious signs that a storm was brewing. Coupled with the cold that seemed to constantly get colder, it was hard to tell how bad the storm would be.
"I know, but simply stating that is not going to help us. Instead of wasting your breath talking, focus on moving!" Zen answered back. "There was a reason I didn't want to bring you into this, I travel much faster on my own."
"Zen, don't start! As skilled as you think you are, do you really think it's a good idea not to be safe and do this alone?" Eva growled.
Zen didn't respond, silently gritting his teeth. While Eva did have a point about Kane possibly being anywhere, there were only a few places he would usually go to, especially when it gets cold.
First on their list was Kane's home. It took a little while to get to the hollowed out tree, and the second they did, Zen and Eva immediately went inside. It was in fair condition, aside from the ash that Kane hardly cleaned out anyway. Unfortunately, it didn't look like he was there. Tired from sprinting all the way here from the guild, Eva and Zen sat on one of the branches to Kane's home.
"Where else would he be?" Eva asked, worried.
"Perhaps at your house? We better get out of here before-" Zen stopped when something small and cold landed on his shoulder. A snowflake sat there, followed by another, and another. Without a moment's notice, it was snowing hard enough that they could barely see each other. They looked to each other with dread in their eyes, then dashed off to Eva's house.
It didn't take them that long to get to Eva's house, but the snow was starting to stick when they got there. Even worse, there was no sign of Kane. From the look of it, the other tents weren't used either. It was hard to tell with all the snow around.
"M-Maybe we don't have to worry so much about him? He knows how to handle himself," Eva said. She didn't fully believe those words, but she really tried to.
"He should be fine but…" Zen paused. "It's not the cold I'm worried about in regards to Kane. Last I saw him, he was… furious. More so than usual."
Eva got a bit closer to Zen, making sure not to bump into his metal exterior. "Do you know why?"
Another pause from Zen. "I do not." Eva looked up to Zen's face, only for him to turn away. "We should get back to the mountain before the snow worsens."
"Are you..?" Eva asked. Zen didn't answer, instead just walked back the way they came. "Right… let's go back."
The wind and snow picked up much sooner than Eva and Zen hoped. It was already a long walk to the Guild, but coupled with low visibility, freezing wind, and soft snow piling on top of the sand, the trek towards the Mountain was going to be a lot more strenuous.
While they trudged through the snow-covered shores, Zen tripped over a piece of driftwood hidden under the freshly lain powder. There was another piece a few feet away from it, and a large piece not too far from that. Of course, these were all the ones that were visible in the snow. Once Zen got up and they checked out the wood, not only did they uncover more under the snow, but upon further inspection the 'driftwood' looked to be parts of a boat.
"Did someone wreck?" Eva asked, throwing all the wood she could lift in a pile. "This stuff isn't that wet, it looks like they washed up maybe a few hours ago or so."
"That's interesting. And from the looks of it, no one else is around so-" Zen suddenly snapped his head to the large chunk of wood, most likely the bow of the ship. He silently walked towards it, not taking his eyes off of it for a second. Eva whispered something to him, but he put his hand over her face to quiet her.
He grabbed the wood, looking over at Eva for a moment and ushering her to come over. Without announcing it, Zen quickly lifted the broken bow above his head, keeping his gaze one the spot it once laid. There... wasn't anything there, other than the faint shape of someone hiding there.
"Take a look at this," Zen said as he tossed the wood to the side. He knelt down to inspect the spot closer, soon joined by Eva. "Looks like somebody was here, certainly taller than you... perhaps as tall as me?"
"Har har, we get it, you're a giant," Eva lightly punched Zen's side. "So where are they, then? If he's so tall, and this spot looks fresh, where did he-" Eva blinked, and suddenly, the spot was mostly gone. A good amount of snow filled it in the time it took her to say most of that sentence, apparently.
Even weirder than that was the sudden rush of coldness Eva felt, and the surprising amount of snow that accumulated on both her and Zen. And yet, the snow wasn't falling any harder than before. The two looked at each other before getting up and booking it towards the Mountain, ignoring the painful chill on their limbs. Zen blasted the snow with Dark Pulse as they ran, making it far easier to navigate the shore.
It took Zen and Eva much longer to arrive than they hoped, both shivering with chattering teeth, pushing through uncomfortable numbness aching their body parts (although, it was mostly felt by Eva). Waiting for the two was James, pacing back and forth and muttering to himself. His eyes lit up when he saw his daughter, shaking to the bone and covered with snow, and ran up to hug her.
"You guys were gone for almost an hour and a half! I was worried sick!" James exclaimed, deciding to bring in the frigid Bisharp to the hug. "We need to get the both of you something warm to wear and drink!"
James literally dragged the two behind him, getting the two bone-chilled Pokemon to Tia in no time. Tia did the best she could: managing to get rid of the numbness, and giving them a few spicy berries and blankets to warm them up, and while Zen was mostly fine, Eva was still shivering. Zen offered her his blanket, since he didn't need it, and got up to walk and process what had happened.
"There was a Pokemon there... I know there was," Zen said to himself. "And they were quite large too, from the imprint in the snow... So where did they go? And how did so much snow fall to cover us? More importantly... James said we were gone for an hour and a half..." He shook his head. "No, he was probably exaggerating. But, he looked genuinely worried..."
Zen held his head for a moment, a faint dizziness stopping him. "Dammit... I might need something to eat, I hadn't realized how hungry I got." He tried to recall the directions to the Cafe, but was met up by a still-shivering Eva.
"Hey! Y-Ya can't just leave me b-behind!" Eva exclaimed through chattering teeth. "We g-gotta stick together, Zen!"
"Hmph, fine," Zen shrugged. "I was going to the Cafe. With you tagging along, I don't have to make a return trip to bring you anything."
"Awwwww, y-you do care!" Eva bumped Zen with her hip, giving a bright grin. "I knew you had a heart!"
Zen smirked and bumped her back, nearly knocking her over. "I care about my teammates, yes. Although, saying I have a heart? That's a bit much."
Eva stayed upright and grinned, walking beside Zen as they traveled through the tunnels. Sure, Kane was still out there and Zen and Eva were worried about him, but he could handle himself. It's not like the snow could get much worse. Right?